Citi names Richard Parsons chairman; Bischoff to retire

New York: Battered Citigroup has named Richard D Parsons as its Chairman to replace Win Bischoff, who retires later this year.

Lead director and chairman of the board’s nomination and governance committee, Richard D Parsons will succeed Win Bischoff as Chairman of the board of directors, from 23 February, Citi said in a statement.

Win, who has been with Citi since 2000, said he would not stand for re-election to the board at Citi’s next Annual Meeting and would retire later this year.

Sixty-year-old Parsons, an experienced corporate leader, has previously worked with Time Warner in positions of president, chief executive officer and chairman.

Parsons has also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dime Bancorp, Inc, managing partner of the New York law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler and has held various positions in the state and federal governments.

Commenting on Bischoff’s retirement, Citi Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said, “Win has been an outstanding board member and Chairman as well as a trusted advisor to me during my time at Citi. He agreed to take on senior leadership roles at Citi more than a year ago during a critical time for the company, and over the years has made very substantial contributions to this global enterprise.”

The company had posted more than eight billion dollar of loss for the December quarter, its straight fifth quarter loss.

The financial entity had also announced to split into two separate businesses -- Citicorp and Citi Holdings. Following the split, traditional banking businesses would be held under Citicorp, while other riskier assets would come under Citi Holdings.